Method of marking cellophane



June 1, 1943. D. R. GRANT METHOD OF MARKING CELLOPHANE 2 Sheeis-Sheet 1 Filed April 12, 1940 INVENTOR DONALD R GRANT $152M 'ITORNEYS June 1, 1943. D. IYQ. GRANT METHOD OF MARKING GELLOPHANE Filed April 12, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTQR DONALD R. GRANT A ORNEYS Patented June 1, 1943 METHOD OF MARKING CELLOPHANE Donald R. Grant, Canajoharie, N. Y., assignor to Beech-Nut Packing Company, Canajoharie, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application April 12, 1940, Serial No. 329,224

1 Claim.

Manufacturers of chewing gum and candy commonly stamp the labels or wrappers for the packages with a number or other mark that serves as a, code dating or factory identification, such marking beingdone at the time the packages are wrapped.

In the case of labels and wrappers of Cellophane or similar material, it has been a serious problem to apply marking of the desired leg'ibility, as such material will not retain the ink when applied with the usual dating stamp.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a method of legibly marking labels or wrappers of Cellophane for the purpose described during the wrapping operation.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a side view of a portion of a gum wrapping machine having a marking device applied thereto embodying features of the invention in their preferred form;

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation on an enlarged scale, taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1:

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a portion of a strip of Cellophane from which the wrappers for packages of chewing gum may be cut;

Fig. 4 is a view in perspective of a package of stick chewing gum, having a wrapper cut from the strip of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a detail view in perspective of the marking die;

Fig. 6 is a, detail side view, on an enlarged scale, of portions of component parts of the device shown operating on the Cellophane strip; and

Fig, '7 is a detail sectional view on an enlarged scale through the marking on a Cellophane wrapper.

My improved method is adapted to be carried out by the device illustrated in the drawings applied to a common type of machine for wrapping a package of stick gum in a Cellophane wrapper 2 (Fig. 4).

As shown, the Cellophane wrapper 2 is cut from a strip 4 which is supplied from a supply thumb screw 66.

From the roll it, the Cellophane strip with the tearing ribbon secured thereto passes over a guide roll 26 and between rolls 28 which present the strip to cutting knives 38' which cut the Cellophane strip and tearing ribbon on transverse lines 3! which extend through the holes i4 so that each wrapper is provided with a semi-cir-.

cular notch 32 at its outer edge through which the end of the tearing ribbon l8 extends.

In accordance with the present invention, the Cellophane strip 4 during its travel between the punching devices l2 and the guide r011 l6, passes between a. marking die 34 and an anvil 36. This marking die 34 has raised pointed projections 38 on its face arranged in the formof the mark which is to be applied to the wrappers.

The marking die 34 has a cylindrical shank 48 which is received in a collar or socket 42 secured to the machine frame. The anvil 36 consists of a rubber pad carried by a head 44 on the lower end of a rod 46 which is mounted to slide vertically in bearings 48 on a bracket 58 secured to the machine frame. The rod 46 is adapted to be reciprocated to move the mandrel toward and from the die 34 by means of an arm 52 secured to the rod and having a stud 54 at its outerend which is received in a. collar 53 secured on a vertically reciprocable rod 58 that operates the punching device [2. The collar 56 is actuated to reciprocate the rod 58 and through the arm 52 to reciprocate the rod 46, by means of an arm 68 secured on a rock shaft 62, the free end of the arm being received between lugs 64 on the collar 56.

The arm 52 may be made in two sections that are detachably secured together by means of a Upon unscrewing the screw 36 so as to disconnect the two section of the arm l2, .the rod 46 and the anvil head 44 may be raised so as to permit removal and replacement of the die 34.

Extending over the marking projections 38 of the die 34 and the Cellophane strip 4 is an inking ribbon such as a typewriter ribbon to arranged transversely of the Cellophane strip. This ribbon passes over guide rolls 18 arranged in the same horizontal plane so that the Cellophane strip is fed substantially in contact with the ribbon.

e ribbon passes through guide slots 12 and the ends thereof are wound on reels or spools 14. Any suitable means may be provided, such as the mechanism for operating the ribbon spools of a typewriter, for intermittently feeding the ribbon longitudinally so as to cause it to alternately wind up on one p ol and unwind from the other in timed relation to the feeding of the Cellophane strip and the operation of the anvil 36, this mechanism forming no part of the present invention.

As the Cellophane strip 4 is intermittently fed along, during the periods of rest of the strip, the anvil 3 is forcefully moved downwardly toward the marking die 34. This movement causes the pointed projections 38 to act through the inking ribbon 68 to form depressions 16 in the Cellophane strip, these depressions being arranged so as to imprint a number or other mark 18 in the Cellophane.

The pointed projections 38 form relatively sharp depressions in the Cellophane and it has been found that a permanent small ink spot is permanently made at the bottom of each depression, while the remaining portion of the depression are left free of ink. Th reason the bottoms of the depressions will retain the ink is thought to be due to the points of the marking projections acting through the thin inking ribbon serving to scratch or rupture the surface of the Cellophane sumciently to cause transfer and retention of the ink.

By thus imprinting the mark on the Cellophane, the mark is permanently made and shows up distinctly without marring the design on the Cellophane wrapper or on the label beneath the wrapper.

Usually in date marking packages, the die is changed each week so that the week when the package was wrapped will appear on the wrapper.

As will be evident to those skilled in the art, my invention permits various modifications without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claim.

What I claim is:

The method of marking indicia in a sheet of Cellophane which comprises positioning an inking ribbon between the sheet of Cellophane and a marking die having pointed projections arranged in the form of the desired indicia, and causing the pointed projections of the die to act through the inking ribbon to form corresponding unperforated depression in the Cellophane in such a manner as to cause ink from the ribbon to be impressed into the bottoms of the depressions.

DONALD R. GRANT. 

